ALIYA

Chapter 41 - Aliya

I still couldn't believe Bilal stopped picking my calls just because I told him we should end our relationship some days ago. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't calling to tell him I loved him. I only wanted him to help me get his wife's car out of our compound, the one she said she bought for me.

I didn't want any trouble, plus yesterday Hajiya told me on phone that she was coming back soon. I didn't want her to come back and see the car there, what would I even say to her?

If only Fawad and I were on good terms, I would have told him to help me do that. He would surely return the car since he could drive unlike me. I huffed helping Balaraba in preparing lunch. "When did you even said Hajiya is coming back?" She asked.

"She didn't specify when, she only said she's coming back soon" I replied slicing the onions.

"Oh, okay then" She said and then changed the topic.

We were busy chitchatting when my phone buzzed, Fawad? I glanced at the caller I.D for like forever before picking the call.

"Hello, is this Aliya?" The speaker said and guess what, it wasn't really Fawad. I had to check the caller I.D again.

"Yes it's Aliya, isn't this Fawad's number?" I asked out of curiosity as I gently walked out of the kitchen.

"Yes it is, can you come down to the station please?" The speaker said making my heart to flip a beat.

"Station? As in how?" I asked.

"Actually," the speaker said and continued. "Fawad has been apprehended together with other gamblers in a raid at a gambling den"

"Gambling den?" I puzzled wondering what took him there, the Fawad I knew wasn't even a gambler.

"Yes, gambling den and you know it's illegal here. Come down to the station and bail him out with the sum of N10,000" The speaker said and quickly hanged off the call.

To say I was dumbfounded was an understatement, what had Fawad got himself into? I wondered while panting.

I could just leave the idiot there but I wasn't that kind of a person, and if Hajiya and his mother finds out what happened then things might just end up pretty bad so I decided to go after him.

I went back to the kitchen, pulled away my apron and told Balaraba I would be back in a jiffy. I didn't tell her about his arrest because she disliked him for attempting to rape me weeks back, she might pursuade me not to help him.

Even the rape attempt story, she had wanted me to tell Hajiya about it. I had to tell her what Bilal told me, that we shouldn't let Hajiya or anyone know about it to avoid creating a big family problem that even Hajiya herself won't be able to solve.

You know, Fawad's father may never believe in the story. Same as his mother. And Hajiya that I trusted would believe in the story, she might not let Fawad go scot free. She may try bringing him to book and that would definitely lead to a big family problem that Bilal warned us about.

Before I left to the station, the thought of ASP Salis bounced into my head. Yes, that young Police Officer that once tried to get into my contact list. By the way, the last time I saw his card I kept it on my drawer... only for me to misplace it again. God, I need to talk to him about this.

I headed to my room and searched for the card thoroughly until hopefully, I found it somewhere between my drawer and bed. Ma Shaa Allah, I heaved a sigh in relief and quickly dialed his number. 

Sadly, he didn't pick up until I called him again. "Hello!" He said making me to wonder where he was, the place seemed to be crowded because it was noisy.